a voice from beyond
by meenist
Summary: There was a disturbance in the Force—though the idea was never novel to him, it never became any less potent. There was suffering, far away but authoritative, heart wrenching. It was concentrated—an individual kind of pain.


**heres a little mindnumbing exercise i wrote a long time ago. maybe itll turn into something if people egg me on, which i doubt! **

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Luke folded his hands in his lap. They ached, a dull, itchy kind of pain. He rubbed them carelessly as he sat alone, contemplating the window. There was a disturbance in the Force—though the idea was never novel to him, it never became any less potent. There was suffering, far away but authoritative, heart wrenching. It was concentrated—an individual kind of pain.

Usually such specific torment, at least at this distance, was too weak to touch him. Now it clawed at his stomach as if it was his own, drooled a bead of sweat to his brow. Nauseated, he began to draw away. He expected the anguish to follow for a moment, to cling to him. But it faded, releasing his conscious with but one invisible sob.

It was for the best. Whatever that poor creature had been subject to was beyond his abilities to intervene or heal. For a moment, all was quiet. He was once again able to feel his own physical exhaustion. His muscles screamed. His eyes nearly set fire in his skull. It was unfortunate that his escapism from a corporeal body was so dangerous this afternoon.

Soon, his thoughts of that anonymous cry for help crawled to him on the backs of his calves and the base of his spine. He could not perceive what he'd shut out but imagine it he could. The Force had been strong with this unfortunate being, and they had been using it unknowingly to cry out to someone, somewhere. Something righteous kicked Luke in one already tender side. This was his concern. The life force of any creature was worth his attention. He had no plans to become a super hero, but he knew somehow that this was a special case. Maybe the only one of its kind. Luke took a deep breath and shut his eyes. The sunny cityscape closed down before him.

It didn't take long to find. As if it had been waiting for him. He reached out and brushed its sense, gently. It jerked under his inquisitive probing. Truly this one knew nothing of the Force until now. He circled the presence slowly from a safe distance where he might asses, might get a better portrait of what he was studying. Ah ha… all this pain for such a small thing. It pushed him as if to say: Same size as you. The phrase came to him as crystal as a voice in his ears. He couldn't help himself; he laughed under his breath. Well all right, he said with a grin. I won't pry.

As he let go, it called to him again. This time it found his hidden heart and pulled. Luke doubled over in his chair. The effects of the Force could traverse into the physical, but at such a distance, a naïve entity should not be so persuasive over his trained sight.

He took the hands of his Force friend. There was something very feminine about those hands, dexterous but slight in his grasp. He tried not to brand this ghost with a sex, it would only complicate his impartial help. She stretched towards him, tentatively. Yes, it was a she. He resisted only for a moment before allowing her to awaken to her own new ability, exploring the outskirts of his mind, the confines of his body. There was nothing invasive about her invasion. He smiled again, cautious though to keep her from his most sensitive consciousness.

She did not ask who he was. He'd tagged her sense as the type to make this her first inquiry. Rather, she seemed almost disinterested in his identity. He furrowed his brow. She was full of surprises even the Force could only report modestly.

They grasped at each other's souls with specter limbs. Each time they clashed, an electric tremor would rock Luke's breast. He swallowed and concentrated his energies. He was here to take control, after all.

He willed her into calm. He started soft but firm, knowing a mind of her caliber could reject him quickly, fully, perhaps even injuring his budding sense. He felt compelled to gain her approval, whoever she might be. He didn't think much on it—he'd spent as long as he could remember trying to prove himself to his stars. What was once more to a new friend?

She heard him. He winced. He hadn't been thinking that hard, but she'd followed him back into his private outlook. His first reaction was to apologize profusely, to swamp her with the embarrassment that welled inside of him. He quelched this, remembering his Jedi instruction. He gently teased her away from his deeper thoughts; the Force equivalent of wagging a finger at a naughty child. She nudged that finger with a laugh. He was beginning to like her.

What seems to be the trouble? Asking the question seemed much more natural to him than pushing a certain tranquility on her. He felt a pang of guilt using the Force for casual conversation, but it passed quickly as he sensed the deep bottom of her despair. No, that was no bottom. It was a level, a cutoff, a place she'd blocked him from passing. I can help you, he offered.

He was confused by her reaction, then. It was no laugh, no cry, no rebuttal or sound of gratitude. He struggled to make sense of it before it faded. Pity? How could she feel pity for his condition? It was she that had felt…

All of his aches and pains ignited at once. He bared them with a pained smile, thinking she had tripped them accidentally, or perhaps even to alert him to the source and cause of her sympathy. The pain made it hard for him to focus but the challenge kept him vigilant. He was afraid that some of his pain may find itself a home inside of her body. In fact… he nearly yanked it away from her as she tried to adopt it, as she tried to swallow it whole and leave him light and healthy. His will wavered for a moment; it felt so wonderful, so relieving, to be without pain. Stop that. He closed an invisible fist around his own fatigue she could not hope to pry open.

So this was how she became so sad? Somehow he doubted it. He was overwhelmed with her immediate compassion, so specific to him. After all, she did not know him. Oh yes I do, she seemed to correct.


End file.
